Transforming Tampa's Tomorrow

The Transforming Tampa’s Tomorrow vision plan was created by Mayor Jane Castor in 2019 to tackle the top priorities for Tampa’s future. Below is an overview of the five strategic goals including stories from members of our community.

 Housing Affordability

Tampa is dedicated to increasing homeownership opportunities for residents at all income levels. Some strategies to increase housing affordability include:

• Setting a goal of adding 10,000 affordable housing units to the market by 2027
• Working with developers to provide City-owned lots for affordable housing through the Infill Housing Program
• Expanding the City’s homeownership assistance programs, including downpayment assistance through the DARE to Own the Dream program
• Prioritizing the maintenance and repair of existing homes through programs like the Owner-Occupied Rehab Program

To learn more about the City of Tampa’s housing assistance programs and services, visit www.tampa.gov/HCD.

Angela’s Story

Angela is a hardworking mother of three who has overcome a lot to achieve her American dream. She is from the Caribbean Island of Saint Thomas, but after hurricanes Irma and Maria destroyed her home, she decided to move to Florida. She started to rebuild her life in Tampa, working full-time to pay rent and provide for her children. Angela dreamed of having a safe place of her own for her kids to grow and play, but she didn’t feel financially ready to buy a home and she didn’t understand the process.

Angela worked with Solita’s House (a partner agency of the City of Tampa) and took homeownership classes through the City’s first-time homebuyer education program to learn the steps she needed to take. She also applied to the City of Tampa’s Dare to Own the Dream Program, which provides downpayment assistance to income-eligible homebuyers. Through this program, Angela and her sons received $100,000 towards the purchase of a new home, making her dream a reality. The home she moved into is also part of the City’s infill housing program, which provides City-owned lots to developers for affordable housing. Angela was brought to tears when she received the keys to her new home, thinking of the memories she will be able to make with her two older boys and her baby for decades to come.

  Infrastructure & Mobility

Infrastructure and Mobility are major components in having a healthy, sustainable, and resilient city. As Tampa continues to grow, the City is committed to creating a robust transportation system that supports economic opportunity and enhances quality of life.

While there is a lack of funding for transportation projects, the City is exploring options to introduce additional revenue streams that can improve our roadways. This includes applying for a record number of state and federal grants. The City is also working to invest in Tampa’s foundation and build safer streets for all.

Key Infrastructure and Mobility initiatives include:

• Passing PIPES, the largest water and wastewater infrastructure bill in Tampa’s history
• Creating the Fix It Fast Program, which offers repairs within 72 hours to common road safety issues like potholes, damaged critical signs (stop signs, yield signs, etc.), and roadway obstructions
• Joining the Vision Zero Network and creating a Vision Zero Action Plan
• Securing major federal grants including:
  • A $24M BUILD Grant to extend the Riverwalk on the west side
  • A $25M Safe Streets for All Grant to tackle our high-injury network in underserved communities
  • A $5.3M Reconnecting Communities Grant to restore neighborhood connectivity
• Creating Tampa’s first Citywide Mobility Plan, known as Tampa MOVES
• Focusing on Quick Build projects that can make a big difference with smaller-scale improvements like new crosswalks, bike lanes, street signs, speed limit reductions, and other safety projects that can be implemented quickly.
• Launching an eBike voucher program to support sustainable transportation alternatives for Tampa residents

Learn more about Mobility programs and initiatives visit: tampa.gov/mobility

Carlos’s Story

Carlos is very active in his community. A proud resident of North Hyde Park, Carlos enjoys riding his bike from home to downtown as a fun, affordable, and energy-efficient alternative to driving a car.  Since the City of Tampa expanded the Green Spine Cycle Track along Cass Street, he feels much safer riding his bike—especially with his son. The protected bike lanes support the city’s vision zero mission while reminding drivers to share the road. Carlos also says biking provides a lot of freedom to residents, like helping them avoid traffic and eliminating the need to find vehicle parking. He also believes infrastructure like this is necessary for creating a better-connected, healthy, equitable, and vibrant city.

This project is one example of how Tampa is investing in safe, affordable, and sustainable transportation solutions.

 Workforce Development

Tampa’s workforce is the backbone of our economy. The City is committed to lifting up our workforce by defining career pathways through higher education and certification programs.

The Mayor’s Workforce Council consists of a dynamic mix of subject matter experts, business leaders, and community stakeholders committed to tackling substantive issues impacting career access and pathways in a meaningful way.

Key Workforce Development initiatives include:

• Launching TPA-WRX, a one-stop shop for workforce resources
• Passing an Apprenticeship Ordinance, which requires contractors working on a large city-owned project to allocate a percentage of labor hours for state-sponsored apprentices. 
• Hosting Bridges to Business events to connect small and diverse companies directly to City staff and a wide range of contracting opportunities. This includes the Bridges to Business Vendor Certification Tour and the Subcontractor Outreach and Networking Events.
• Launching the Pathways to Professions model that informs residents of career opportunities, training options, and community resources in Tampa’s high-growth employment sectors. 
• Hosting annual Signing Day job fairs and career expo events

Workforce Partnerships Ideas in Action DRAFT Plan

Review the plan and provide public comments.

Stephen’s Story

Stephen grew up in the East Tampa neighborhood, and now he’s helping build its future.

A few years ago, Stephen was a football player at Florida A&M University, and he didn't know what he wanted to do after college. That was until he took an internship with a construction firm called Strategic Planning. It was through that internship that he realized his passion for engineering and construction. Upon graduating with his Engineering degree, he was hired by Strategic Planning full-time.

Today, Stephen is working as a Construction Project Manager on the City Center at Hanna Ave development—making a difference in the neighborhood he grew up in. This project, which is located right around the corner from his grandmother’s home, will help bring city services closer to Tampa residents by housing key City departments and creating a place for the community to gather. It was important for the City of Tampa and the prime contractor on this project, DPR, to partner with minority-owned/women-owned construction companies, like Strategic Planning, for subcontracting opportunities.

Today, Stephen is an inspiration to his family, friends, and anyone aspiring to career success. The City of Tampa is committed to creating opportunities for people just like Stephen to find meaningful career pathways to a successful future.

 Sustainability and Resilience

All Tampa residents deserve healthy, safe, and clean places to call home. The City of Tampa is dedicated to building a clean energy future, conserving natural resources, and preparing for climate impacts. We approach these commitments using three core values:

• Go Green: Ensure decisions consider life cycle environmental impacts
• Be Fair: Ensure decisions are equitable and socially responsible
• Keep Safe: Ensure decisions are redundant, resilient, and adaptable

Key Sustainability and Resilience initiatives include:

• Hosting Mayor Jane’s Tree Giveaway events, providing 1,000 free trees to the community 
• Setting the ambitious goal to plant 30,000 trees by 2030 
• Creating Tampa’s first Green Team to tackle litter, plant trees, and educate the community on environmental initiatives 
• Releasing the Resilient Tampa study, a groundbreaking roadmap that will make our city stronger in the face of our current and future challenges
• Tackling sea-level rise through a $75,000 grant from The Florida Resilient Coastlines Program (FRCP), studying the impacts of sea-level rise on our community and to identify key recommendations for resilience planning
• Implementing green infrastructure like bioinfiltration, permeable paving, subsurface retention systems, stormwater harvesting and reuse systems, and green roofs. 
• Partnering with Solar United Neighbors to encourage residents to move to solar energy with their neighborhoods 

Ericka’s Story

Ericka is a Tampa resident who is passionate about sustainability. She has a Master’s Degree in Global Sustainability and Tourism from the University of South Florida’s Patel College of Global Sustainability, and she recently presented at a conference in London about Textile Composting. She is also part of Tampa’s first-ever Green Team, a group of passionate environmentalists that are working to plant trees, fight litter, provide sustainability education, and create a cleaner, greener future for Tampa. Ericka is proud to be part of the Green Team, making a difference in her community.
 

 Resident Services

To facilitate growth and ensure Tampa continues to evolve as a competitive city, Tampa needs a solid foundation built on strong quality basic services that are connected to the community it
serves.

Key Resident Services initiatives include:  

• Investing in programs that improve quality of life like Parks and Recreation
• Supporting art and culture through projects like the Soulwalk
• Investing in public safety to keep our community safe, including the addition of new fire stations, emergency response crews, community-centric policing, and more.
• Hiring a Community Experience Director to improve customer service and increase awareness of available programs/services for residents
• Implementing software that will track and monitor the level of service provided to residents to improve transparency and create an online platform to streamline access to services

Michael’s Story

Michael is a high school student from the Cuscaden Park area who grew up in the Parks and Rec system with his brothers and sisters.

Throughout his youth, Michael played basketball with Parks & Rec, and once he became old enough, he started working as a seasonal volunteer coach for the basketball team. Michael says that Parks and Rec changed his life by putting him on the right track through positive mentorships. He says community parks are a place where kids can just be kids, no matter what’s going on at home, school, or in the outside world. He also says that he still loves meeting his friends and siblings on the Cuscaden Park basketball court after school to hang out and play.

It’s parks and rec centers like these that can serve as the heartbeat of a community. Michael’s story is one example of why it’s so important for the City to invest in resident services that can improve the quality of life for so many people in the community.